Parties' economic recovery plans compared

The Japanese Communist Party calls for measures to increase personal consumption which accounts for 60 percent of the national economy. Other opposition parties, as well as the ruling coalition parties, also have come up with their economic recovery plans in preparation for the July 29 House of Councilors election.

Akahata of July 5 reported what the ruling and opposition parties are saying.

Ruling coalition parties:

The Liberal Democratic, Komei and New Conservative parties all call for "structural reforms" which would cause massive unemployment and bankruptcies. The LDP says that the service sector will be able to absorb unemployment, and the New Conservative Party says that companies in the private sector will absorb unemployment.

The Komei Party admits that the reform will result in massive unemployment and calls for creation of one million jobs in new industries in two years.

The government plan for creating 5.3 million jobs in five years, which the economic and fiscal advisory council drew up, lacks supportive policy measures.

The LDP plans to increase the money supply which will bring about inflation. This will worsen the economic situation.

The economic policies of the ruling parties are characterized by tolerating many bankruptcies and massive unemployment which will unfailingly worsen the economy and work against recovery.

Other opposition parties:

The Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal, and the Social Democratic Party accept the ruling parties' plan for "structural reform" whose first task is to carry out the write-offs of non-performing loans held by major banks. The DPJ says that it is their call since three years ago, and that unemployment can be dealt with using a safety-net.

The Liberal Party says that a supplementary budget will be required, and the social Democratic Party calls for employment measures. Their policies, however, have the clear mark of accepting the basic government policy. (end)